Lord Foul's Bane limited edition - Grim Oak Press

[SleeplessOne]

I've seen an uncoloured version of Allen Morris's cover for the Illearth War and I am suddenly extremely tempted to splash out and get a copy when they become available - I'm not usually one to spend a whole heap on non-essential material stuff but damn if I don't love TIL; a quality release with illustrations might be too much for me to resist I think ..

[Lazy Luke]

I don't trust that book. Looks too much like Book of Mormon. Not that I have anything against those particular religionists, I just don't like the idea of giving Lord Foul's Bane a Biblefeel to it. Thomas Covenant fought Lord Foul to preserve the flaws and inadequasies of what it means to be human. It had always been Lord Foul's intent to create a work of perfection.

The illustrations too are wrong. Lena has the arm and the hand of a bloke, rendering her questionable and unnerving. And the Celebration of Spring isn't how I remember the Ur-Vile wedge. Ur-viles weren't like Ridley Scott's alien creatures not untill The Power That Preserves - when the 'Danger of Dreams' threatened reality.

Each to his own I guess. Personally I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, I much prefer my old dog-eared paperback, typos included.

[SleeplessOne]

I don't trust that book. Looks too much like Book of Mormon. Not that I have anything against those particular religionists, I just don't like the idea of giving Lord Foul's Bane a Biblefeel to it. Thomas Covenant fought Lord Foul to preserve the flaws and inadequasies of what it means to be human. It had always been Lord Foul's intent to create a work of perfection.

The illustrations too are wrong. Lena has the arm and the hand of a bloke, rendering her questionable and unnerving. And the Celebration of Spring isn't how I remember the Ur-Vile wedge. Ur-viles weren't like Ridley Scott's alien creatures not untill The Power That Preserves - when the 'Danger of Dreams' threatened reality.

Each to his own I guess. Personally I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, I much prefer my old dog-eared paperback, typos included.

Interesting take.

I didn't love what I've seen of the LFB pics either; Lena looks way too old, Berek doesn't match the LC account of him.
The Ur Viles pic was ok but could have been better realised - the painting of Covenant being born Christ-like is indeed a bit strong.
SRD clearly plays with Christian imagery throughout the chronicles, but it needn't drive the artistic brief for a release of this sort.

I did love the unfinished illustration of Elena and Hile Troy for the Illearth War though, and hold out hope that the art work there captures my imagination on something approaching the level of the book itself.

Pre-Internet, I was more than content to let a mere six Peter Goodfellow paperback covers and a few sundry maps and illustrations to comprise the sum of additional visual stimulus needed to spark my imagination upon originally reading the series - in fact those Goodfellow covers played a part in my physically picking the books up for the first time.

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

I don't trust that book. Looks too much like Book of Mormon. Not that I have anything against those particular religionists, I just don't like the idea of giving Lord Foul's Bane a Biblefeel to it. Thomas Covenant fought Lord Foul to preserve the flaws and inadequasies of what it means to be human. It had always been Lord Foul's intent to create a work of perfection.

[...]

Interesting take.

[...]

Especially so, since I think the Pharisees -- at least, those portrayed prominently in the Gospels -- to be quite Foulian in their view of perfection, viz., a sterile and unblemished moral rectitude. The God-who-gets-his-hands-dirty doesn't seem to figure in their calculus.

[Lazy Luke]

+JMJ+

I think the Pharisees -- at least, those portrayed prominently in the Gospels -- to be quite Foulian in their view of perfection, .

My point exactly. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant are not religious gospels. The work of perfection Lord Foul craved was justification for making his home a seashell. To 'come out of one's shell' is all it took to defeat despite. Which isn't the same as the eternal war between Good and Evil.

[SleeplessOne]

Dear Allen Morris,

for the Grim Oak Press's The Illearth War release, I nominate the following 10 scenes as being worthy of reproducing as artworks (the scenes of which are interspersed evenly throughout the book)

* The extended Council of the Lords attempting to succour Dukkha Waynhim while Covenant and Hile Troy look on

* Covenant and Elena at Glimmermere

* Mhoram and Covenant talking by the light of the krill

* Hyrim, Shetra and the Bloodguard questioning Hoerkin/Amhakara in the sarangrave

* Hile Troy catching a laughing Amok in the viancome at Revelwood

* Hyrim confronting Kinslaughterer at Coerici with waves in the background

* Verement confronting Flesharrower at Doom's Retreat

* Caerroil Wildwood

* Covenant, Elena, Bannor, Morin and Amok traversing the sunless lake of Earthroot

* Bannor supporting Covenant at Gallow's Howe while Hile Troy wields the ring and Caerroil Wildwood prepares to intervene.

I'd fork out $400 to get roughly half of those depictions with my LE release ..

[Cord Hurn]

Dear Allen Morris,

for the Grim Oak Press's The Illearth War release, I nominate the following 10 scenes as being worthy of reproducing as artworks (the scenes of which are interspersed evenly throughout the book)

* The extended Council of the Lords attempting to succour Dukkha Waynhim while Covenant and Hile Troy look on

* Covenant and Elena at Glimmermere

* Mhoram and Covenant talking by the light of the krill

* Hyrim, Shetra and the Bloodguard questioning Hoerkin/Amhakara in the sarangrave

* Hile Troy catching a laughing Amok in the viancome at Revelwood

* Hyrim confronting Kinslaughterer at Coerici with waves in the background

* Verement confronting Flesharrower at Doom's Retreat

* Caerroil Wildwood

* Covenant, Elena, Bannor, Morin and Amok traversing the sunless lake of Earthroot

* Bannor supporting Covenant at Gallow's Howe while Hile Troy wields the ring and Caerroil Wildwood prepares to intervene.

I'd fork out $400 to get roughly half of those depictions with my LE release ..

Those are all wonderful ideas for painted scenes, SleeplessOne! I especially like the idea of a color illustration of the scene "Verement confronting Flesharrower at Doom's Retreat"!

A graphic depiction of "Bannor supporting Covenant at Gallow's Howe while Hile Troy wields the ring and Caerroil Wildwood prepares to intervene" appeals to me a lot, also.

[SleeplessOne]

.. and here's what we ended up getting:

https://www.allenmorrisart.com/products/illearth

I like this collection of paintings from Morris a bit better than those he did for Lord Foul's Bain, but I still have a few issues with what he's produced here, too.
I kinda like the one that I assume is Amok.
However Elena kneeling by the Blood of the Earth is close but not close enough, imo.

Still, it's always cool to see quality artwork in connection with the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.

Incidentally, I am on a Reddit Covenant page; Morris recently got in touch there asking for advice on what a member of the Warward might look like; apparently he is in the midst of producing art work for Grim Oak Press's The Power That Preserves run ..

[dlbpharmd]

.. and here's what we ended up getting:

https://www.allenmorrisart.com/products/illearth

I like this collection of paintings from Morris a bit better than those he did for Lord Foul's Bain, but I still have a few issues with what he's produced here, too.
I kinda like the one that I assume is Amok.
However Elena kneeling by the Blood of the Earth is close but not close enough, imo.

Still, it's always cool to see quality artwork in connection with the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.

Incidentally, I am on a Reddit Covenant page; Morris recently got in touch there asking for advice on what a member of the Warward might look like; apparently he is in the midst of producing art work for Grim Oak Press's The Power That Preserves run ..

This art is absolutely stunning. I've just spent the past 30 minutes, when I should be working, staring at the galleries for LFB and TIW. I can't wait to see what he does for TPTP!

There is a reddit Covenant page? How did I not know this?

[SleeplessOne]

.. and here's what we ended up getting:

https://www.allenmorrisart.com/products/illearth

I like this collection of paintings from Morris a bit better than those he did for Lord Foul's Bain, but I still have a few issues with what he's produced here, too.
I kinda like the one that I assume is Amok.
However Elena kneeling by the Blood of the Earth is close but not close enough, imo.

Still, it's always cool to see quality artwork in connection with the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.

Incidentally, I am on a Reddit Covenant page; Morris recently got in touch there asking for advice on what a member of the Warward might look like; apparently he is in the midst of producing art work for Grim Oak Press's The Power That Preserves run ..

This art is absolutely stunning. I've just spent the past 30 minutes, when I should be working, staring at the galleries for LFB and TIW. I can't wait to see what he does for TPTP!

There is a reddit Covenant page? How did I not know this?

oh; glad you enjoyed the TC art - I much preferred the Illearth War pics to the Lord Foul's Bane stuff; same artist of course, I just think the Illearth War paintings (generally) did a better job of capturing the scenes they were trying to depict.

yes, a reddit sub for Covenant fans (its not particularly active, unlike KW however it is pretty much only Covenant content):

https://www.reddit.com/r/ThomasCovenant/

please do drop by and post something sometime!

edit: I did suggest to Allen Morris that he should ensure he depicts Lord Mhoram's Victory!